§ 1.1 Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns methods and apparatus for providing agent controlled (e.g., secure) synchronized (e.g., web) browsing at a terminal. More specifically, the present invention concerns methods and apparatus for permitting a live agent to assist a customer at a terminal, such as a kiosk for example, by navigating through content, such as hyper-text markup language (or “HTML”) pages for example, which is rendered at both the customer terminal and the agent's station.
§ 1.2 Related Art
Below, methods for providing customer service, as well as perceived shortcomings of such methods, are introduced. Internet-based customer service and its perceived shortcomings are introduced in § 1.2.1 below. Then, a system in which customers can access live agents from kiosks is introduced in § 1.2.2. Finally, known synchronized web browsing techniques are introduced in § 1.2.3. The discussion of these systems in this section is not, and should not be interpreted as, an admission that such systems are prior art.
§ 1.2.1 Internet-Based Customer Service
The Internet has been successfully used to reduce the need for human customer service representatives. That is, in many instances, customers can use the Internet to answer questions that they would otherwise present to a human customer service representative (also referred to as a “live agent”). However, the present inventors believe that in may instances, customers still would like to confer (e.g., talk) with a live agent. The kiosk system discussed in § 1.2.2 below permits a customer at a kiosk to establish an audio, video, and/or text message conference or “call” with a live agent. The present invention uses the kiosk system of § 1.2.2 below to permit the live agent to navigate through content, such as HTML pages for example, which is rendered at both the customer terminal and the agent's station.
§ 1.2.2 Kiosk System
Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/151,793, entitled “Interactive Multimedia System for Use with Kiosks and Internet Based Customers”, and filed on Aug. 31, 1999, discloses a multimedia call center (or “MCC”) in which live agents can assist customer end users at kiosk stations. It is expected that such kiosks will be located in areas open to the public, and preferably areas with high traffic such as airports, malls, grocery stores, train stations, bus terminals, etc. In such a system, a live agent can help a customer or potential customer complete a transaction. This system may be used to establish an audio, video, and/or text message conference or “call” with a live agent as is described in the provisional application and in § 4.2.1 below for the reader's convenience. The present invention may use this system to permit the live agent to navigate through content, such as HTML pages for example, which is rendered at both the customer terminal and the agent's station.
§ 1.2.3 Known Synchronized Web Browsing Techniques
Synchronized web browsing may be effected between a “guide” terminal (i.e., a terminal that navigates through content) and a “follower” terminal (i.e., a terminal upon which content retrieved (or requested) by the guide terminal may be rendered). Typically, the guide terminal will download a synchronized web browsing applet to the follower terminal. This applet is executed by a web browser, at the follower terminal, to establish a synchronized web browsing session.
Most web browsers, such as Explorer from Microsoft Corporation and Navigator from Netscape Corporation for example, have an optional setting in which applets, which may have been downloaded, are not automatically executed without the user's permission. This option permits the user to avoid malicious “virus” applets which may be used to steal personal or confidential information from the user's computer, destroy data at the user's computer, or perform some other type of malicious act using the user's computer. In the context of a kiosk system, security concerns led the present inventors to construct an exemplary browsing process in which no downloaded applets would be executed via the browser. Thus, a goal of the present invention is to establish and facilitate a synchronized (web) browsing session between an agent (guide) and a customer (follower) without downloading an applet for synchronized (web) browsing.